For work with high-temperature objects such as a welding operation like arc welding, a furnace operation in front of a blast furnace or the like, and cooking, heat-resistant gloves are necessary from a safety standpoint. A typical material for heat-resistant gloves for use in a thermally harsh operation is an animal skin. A firefighter's uniform also requires heat resistance. Further, materials for the interiors of vehicles such as a car and a train also need to have heat resistance, flame proofness, and flame retardancy.
Conventionally, making heat-resistant gloves or firefighter's uniforms by using a heat-resistant fiber such as an aramid fiber, a polybenzimidazole fiber, a polybenzoxazole fiber, a polybenzazole fiber, a polyamide imide fiber, a melamine fiber, and a polyimide fiber has been proposed (for example, Non-patent document 1 and Patent document 1). Non-patent document 1 describes that a firefighter's uniform is made of 95% of a meta-aramid fiber in terms of flame proofness and workability and 5% of a para-aramid fiber in terms of dimensional stability and prevention of shrinkage. Further, Patent document 1 describes that a glove is knitted from an aramid fiber yarn alone and a synthetic resin is fused by heating to a palm portion of the glove.
However, conventional heat-resistant gloves made of an animal skin have a problem in workability because fingers cannot be moved smoothly. Further, an animal skin is an inconvenient material in use since it does not have a function of absorbing sweat and is not washable. Conventional gloves made of a fabric of a heat-resistant fiber yarn alone have a problem in heat insulation. In arc welding, for example, when an arc falls on the gloves, the skin may be burned. In order to solve this problem, the fabric can be made thicker, which, however, results in another problem in workability because fingers cannot be moved smoothly, and an increase in cost. Further, in the case of firefighter's uniforms made with a heat-resistant fiber, an aluminum foil (including a coating) is formed on an outermost layer, a fabric of the heat-resistant fiber alone is formed inside thereof, and a non-woven fabric is arranged inside thereof for heat insulation. Accordingly, such firefighter's uniforms become heavy as a whole, and thus may lead to poor operation or injury to the human body. Further, in recent years, there is a need for garments having heat resistance and protection.
Non-patent document 1: “Encyclopedia of fiber”, Maruzen Co., Ltd., Mar. 25, 2002, page 619
Patent document 1: Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3048633